Homeless man in court for exposing himself and biting girl in Truro

Conan Rainbow appeared before Truro Crown Court on trial this week, facing one count of sexual assault.

The jury was told that Rainbow, aged 38 and of no fixed abode, had already pleaded guilty to a charge of exposure, after he pulled down his trousers and underwear and showed her his genitals.

Rainbow told the court that he could not remember doing it, due to how drunk he was, but accepted that he must have done on the evidence.

However, he denied that he deliberately went on to bite the girl's leg through her trousers, or that this action was sexual.

Despite his protestations, the jury was unanimous in finding him guilty of sexual assault.

Giving evidence during the trial, he told the jury that at the time of the incident, in May this year, he had been sleeping in the doorway of M&S for around six months.

"I was an alcoholic, so I was drinking every morning when I woke up - vodka, Jack Daniels, really strong ciders," he said.

He said that by around 4pm on the day of the incident he was "swaying from side to side" and he "couldn't really see straight."

The court heard how the girl had told police and a member of the public how Rainbow had followed her around the city.

Feeling uncomfortable she had gone to the area near the cathedral to try and find a mobile phone signal, sitting down on a wall, where Rainbow had come up to her.

He offered to show her his tattoos, before dropping his trousers and underwear and exposing himself.

She said he then bent down and bit her on her leg.

Rainbow claimed he had bent down because he dropped his phone but could not explain why the marks were left on the girl's leg, saying: "I don't remember causing it."

He went on to say the afternoon was "all a bit of a blur."

A woman passing nearby shortly afterwards saw the girl looking uncomfortable and mouthed to her "Are you OK?", before going over and pretending to be the teenager's mother in order to lead her away into the nearby Co-op store, where Rainbow followed them.

Homeless man Conan Rainbow has been found guilty of biting a teenage girl's leg after exposing himself near to Truro Cathedral (Image: Google Street View)

After he had left, the woman then walked the girl home.

Her actions were praised by Judge Simon Carr, who said: "She did something most members of the public don't do - she got involved. She should be commended for that."

Michael Green, representing Rainbow at sentencing, said: "His difficulty has been alcohol over the years.

"He's been in this cycle of drinking whilst homeless," adding that the defendant had a "sad background in terms of his family."

Judge Carr told Rainbow that the girl "couldn't have been clearer she didn't want anything to do with you," adding: "She would have been terrified."

He sentenced Rainbow to six months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered that he be placed on the sex offenders register.

Rainbow was also sentenced for a breach of a notification order, which required him to notify police if he moved - something he had now breached 12 times.

As a result, Judge Carr sentenced Rainbow to a further six months, also suspended for two years.